Examining the U.S. Regulatory Framework for Assessing Sovereign Investments: Written Testimony Prepared for the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs (April 24, 2008)

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul Rose
MRS Advances ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 4 (17-18) ◽  
pp. 987-992
Author(s):  
François Diaz-Maurin ◽  
Rodney C. Ewing

ABSTRACTThe “safety case” approach has been developed to address the issue of evaluating the performance of a geologic repository in the face of the large uncertainty that results for evaluations that extend over hundreds of thousands of years. This paper reviews the concept of the safety case as it has been defined by the international community. We contrast the safety case approach with that presently used in the U.S. repository program. Especially, we focus on the role of uncertainty quantification. There are inconsistencies between the initial proposal to dealing with uncertainties in a safety case and current U.S. practice. The paper seeks to better define the safety case concept so that it can be usefully applied to the regulatory framework of the U.S. repository program.


Author(s):  
Alan N. Rechtschaffen

This chapter discusses the origins of the 2007 financial crisis, subprime lending, and government-sponsored entities. It argues that the events driving financial markets to the precipice of collapse during the global financial meltdown gave rise to a regulatory framework that may have been a rational response to a market in free fall, but need to be reassessed in an era of recovery. In 2018, the U.S. economy may be, by many measures, viewed as wholly recovered from the economic impact of the crisis. The stock market is trading at record highs, having erased all the losses of the crisis period and then some. With this recovery, the Trump administration seeks to restrain the regulatory burden imposed during the crisis.


1983 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 63-69 ◽  
Author(s):  
James B. Kliebenstein ◽  
Francis P. McCamley

Energy use in U.S. production of food and fiber is extensive and has increased rapidly. A threefold increase occurred from 1940 to 1970 (Carter and Yonde). Food and fiber production accounted for about 13 percent of the total energy consumed in the U.S. in 1980 (Duncan and Webb). Of the total energy use in food and fiber production, farm level production directly consumes about 21 percent (U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture and Forestry).


Author(s):  
Jeffrey L. LaChance ◽  
Felicia A. Duran ◽  
Jesse Phillips ◽  
Robert Bari ◽  
Robert J. Budnitz ◽  
...  

This paper summarizes an assessment of the regulatory framework and requirements for licensing a liquid metal reactor (LMR) for use in transmuting actinides, which was performed for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Advanced Fuel Cycle Initiative (AFCI). Since the LMR designs currently under consideration are sodium-cooled, the assessment identifies and discusses requirements, issues, and topics important to the licensing process in general and those specific to sodium-cooled LMRs, as well as licensing options and associated recommendations. The goal of the regulatory framework assessment was to clarify and evaluate requirements that support the development of safe and cost-effective LMR designs. The scope of the assessment included an analysis of past and present licensing practices as well as an examination of possible future regulatory activities needed to support licensing LMR designs. Because this assessment included the identification of potentially problematic areas, a review of the past LMR licensing efforts was performed. Both technical and regulatory issues were identified and recommendations were made to address important issues. A review of the current regulatory framework for licensing a commercial reactor and the associated licensing schedules was performed as part of the assessment. In addition, specific options proposed by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) for licensing an LMR were also assessed with regard to their potential impacts on different stakeholders, which include the NRC, DOE, industry, and the public. In addition to the licensing of a commercial LMR, the assessment also identifies and evaluates licensing options for an LMR prototype. The regulatory assessment supports a conclusion that a safe, licensable LMR design is fully feasible. The knowledge applied in the LMR design will be reinforced by past experience and available technology. The licensing of an LMR is expected to be manageable, notwithstanding the uncertainties associated with regulatory, technical, and other issues. With forward-looking planning, effective management, and adequate resources, the process of obtaining a license for an LMR would be greatly facilitated.


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